Looking For A New Startup Idea? Try Farming

In an auditorium last week at the UCLA Anderson School of
Management, startup companies sought out investors to help take
their ideas to the next level.

This wasn't a tech conference. Venture capitalists were here to
check out sustainable farming.

"In the next 40 years there's going to
be a 70 percent increase in demand for food worldwide," said
Jason Reed, founder of Seedstock.com,
which hosted the event. "There's not a lot of models for how
sustainability can capture that increased demand and those
increased pressures."

Sustainable farming, which often ties
into organic growing, has been reaping profits. The USDA recently
released the results of its first ever survey of
the organic farming industry, reporting that sales in the U.S.
topped $3.5 billion last year.

Over the last few years, sustainable
farming startups have managed to get loans from companies
like Whole Foods, or sold equity stakes to venture
capitalists like Michael Dell's brother, Adam. A lot of the seed
money, literally, is being used to help these businesses grow,
many with a focus on being local. Food grown closer to where
consumers buy lowers transportation costs. That can help offset
the higher cost of growing food organically. Seedstock’s
conference was "a chance for farmers, entrepreneurs and
distributors who have found success, who have found models that
work, to share their stories," Reed said.

One such investor is David Jeromin,
managing partner at Golden Mean Capital. Jeromin has been in
venture capital for some time, but started making investments in
sustainable agriculture five years ago. "We are looking at making
investments typically in the earlier stage, around a half million
to five million (dollars)," he said. Golden Mean has invested in
operations like a sustainable palm oil operation in Ghana and a
coffee and tea importer in New York. He sees profits in selling
the idea of environmentally friendly farming to the estimated 50
million Americans ages 25 to 60 focused on lifestyle, health, and
sustainability. "This is a fantastic opportunity."